'I'm too scared to work on stage after breast cancer': Dame Maggie Smith admits illness has battered her confidence

Dame Maggie Smith says her battle with breast cancer has left her too frightened to tread the boards.

The actress, winner of two Oscars, said she may turn her back on
theatre after chemotherapy and radiotherapy left her 'flattened' with
no energy or confidence.

The 74-year-old, who starred in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie and
the Harry Potter films, said: 'I’m frightened to work in theatre now. I
feel very uncertain. I haven’t done it for a while.'

'Flattened': Dame Maggie Smith admits her cancer battle has taken a lot of her physically and emotionally

Dame Maggie was diagnosed with cancer last year after finding a lump on her breast.

'I had been feeling a little rum,' she said.

'I didn’t think it was anything serious because years ago I felt a lump and it was benign. I assumed this would be too. It takes the wind out of your sails, and I don’t know what the future holds, if anything.'